Monday, 27 August 2012

Review: Hair Couture International by Sleek Velve Ponytail

A few months ago I was contacted by Sleek hair and was offered the chance to review something from their range of products. Other than this ponytail, they stock hair extensions, winges, buns and other hair pieces. I already own hair extensions (which I sadly never use) and my bun's big enough as it is, so I chose a ponytail. Although my hair itself is quite lengthy, it's quite fine which means not a lot of volume, so I had a lot of hope for my ponytail hair piece.

I treated the ponytail as I would my own hair - wearing it, styling it and washing it. I'm going to review it based on the following factors: Application, Colour Match, Usability, Qualityand Value for Money.

Application - I have to admit that I didn't find the application instructions that easy to follow and turned to Youtube to see how to fit the hair piece. The ponytail comes with an attached grip comb and a Velcro drawstring wrap around. I first started by tying my hair up in a high ponytail and used the grip to slide that on top of my ponytail. Once secure, I then used the Velcro drawstring wrap to tighten the hairpiece around my original ponytail. I'd suggest at this point to have a few grips ready in case your ponytail doesn't feel completely secure. After I'd worn the ponytail a few times, the application process did become easier, so maybe it's just a case of 'practice makes perfect!'

Colour Match - This is probably the factor I was most impressed with. Sleek have a range of different shades to choose from to ensure that your hair blends in with the product. My hair is dark brown so I usually go for the darkest brown shades, which is what I got with my ponytail. As you can see from the photos, the ponytail blended brilliantly with my own hair colour and when wearing it, no-one knew any different that the hair piece wasn't my own.

Usability - When the product was in my hair, it was comfortable to wear and didn't weigh my own hair down, even when asleep. It didn't once move from the place of application which I was impressed with as there's nothing more obvious about wearing hair pieces than when they're obviously detaching from your head! When it came to washing them, they were easy to shampoo - easily absorbing the product and taking seconds to rinse. They also didn't tangle which was something I was worried about.

Quality - You get a lot of hair for your money and the product is sturdy and added a lot of volume to my otherwise fine hair which is what I wanted. The thickness however did struggle to blend in with my fine hair as you can see which is one of the downsides I found to this product. I think that has a lot to do with the fact that my own hair is longer than that of the ponytail, which is not a negative of the product. As I often curl my own hair, I tested the product curled with my own curled ponytail. Unfortunately the hair piece didn't hold or curl as easily as my own hair which did leave it looking a bit obvious when blended.

Value for Money - Hair pieces these days can be quite costly so I think that £22.50 is great value for money for the amount of hair you get. This hair piece can instantly transform your look and add volume to your hair. If my hair was a little shorter then I think this product would be perfect for me, however because I did struggle to blend the length of the hair piece with my own hair, I think I'm only likely to use it when I first get my hair cut. This hairpiece would be ideal for those with shorter, maybe shoulder length hair as it gives people the option of a long ponytail without costing too much.

Have you tried any of Sleek's hair products before? What did you think of them?